IMPACT is committed to changing lives, for good. Our family of services helps restore the health and productivity of individuals, organizations and workplaces leading to an improved quality of life for our entire community.

IMPACT 2-1-1 is a central access point for people in need. During times of personal crisis or community disaster the free, confidential helpline and online resource directory make it easy for residents to get connected to information and assistance.

IMPACT Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services includes consultation and referral for people concerned about alcohol or drug use.

As a business owner or manager, you can take every reasonable safety precaution to try and prevent the bad things from happening. That still won’t thwart an act of violence from an irrational employee or customer; “acts of God” like heart attacks and hurricanes; or random accidents like the ones that happen every day in companies just like yours. Do you realize that, if left unchecked, the aftermath of a critical incident could also cause your business to suffer?

Several large-scale critical incidents in public places have captured our attention recently. However, most critical incidents happen in the workplace, often garnering little or no media attention.

Critical incidents are traumatic events that cause powerful emotional reactions in the people who were exposed to the incident. Emergency Services personnel often refer to The Terrible Ten:

One-the-job death

Suicide of a colleague

Serious work-related injury

Multi-casualty event / disaster / terrorism incidents

Events with a high degree of threat to the personnel

Significant events involving children

Events in which the victim is known to the personnel

Events with excessive media interest

Events that are prolonged and end with a negative outcome

Any significantly powerful, overwhelming distressing event

People process traumatic events differently and exhibit a range of responses including, but not limited to: slowed thinking; poor attention span; memory problems; difficulty sleeping; and disorientation. More extreme responses include “seeing” the event over and over. Even after an incident is resolved, it can continue to impact witnesses days or months later. It usually doesn’t take long before your bottom line is suffering too.

Managers and supervisors can help mitigate a critical incident’s impact on employees by taking simple steps that include: monitoring work schedules and workloads; ensuring tasks are concrete in nature whenever possible, reassuring witnesses their reactions to the incident are normal; and encouraging employees to utilize their employee assistance provider (EAP).

When an individual or group is struggling with a strong post-incident response, it may be necessary to reach out to experts in the area of critical incident response. IMPACT Workplace Services' masters-degreed clinicians provide debriefing and counseling in the immediate wake of a traumatic event to help employees and managers process things in a healthy and supported manner.

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